Question 1

What SQL topics does Shopify focus on?

Accepted Answer

Shopify SQL interviews emphasize merchant-side analytics (GMV, revenue per merchant, category performance), conversion funnel analysis (cart → checkout → paid), merchant retention cohorts, and seasonal/geographic trends. Expect datasets with orders, line items, merchants, shoppers, and timestamp fields across many time zones.

Question 2

Does Shopify ask merchant-side or shopper-side questions?

Accepted Answer

Mostly merchant-side. Shopify's customer is the merchant, so expect questions about GMV per merchant, merchant lifecycle, plan upgrades, and churn. Shopper-side questions appear in the shopping-cart/conversion context but are less common than merchant-level analysis.

Question 3

How technical are Shopify SQL interviews?

Accepted Answer

Moderately technical with strong business context. The SQL involves CTEs, window functions, and cohort math. What matters more is explaining the WHY behind your metric choice — Shopify values analysts who can connect SQL output to merchant outcomes like GMV, retention, and plan upgrades.

Question 4

What SQL dialect does Shopify use?

Accepted Answer

Shopify uses a combination of BigQuery and Presto/Trino for analytics. Interviews accept standard ANSI SQL. Comfort with DATE_TRUNC, window functions, and multi-step CTEs covers 95% of what's tested. Knowing BigQuery-specific features like ARRAY_AGG helps but isn't required.

Shopify SQL Interview
Questions

What Shopify tests in SQL interviews

Sample Shopify SQL questions

How Shopify SQL interviews work

Frequently Asked

Ready to ace your
Shopify SQL interview?

Shopify SQL InterviewQuestions